Thomas george stevens



Patented Dec; 6.,.1898. T. G. STEVENS.

snor TREE. (Apllicltion led Peb. 14, 1898.)

(No Model.)

Tm; nomme PETER: cov. PHoToLlTHo., wAsmNamN, o. n,

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UNTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

BOOT-TREE.

SPEGFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,320, dated December 6, 1898.

Application filed February 14, 1898. Serial No. 670,268. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS GEORGE STEs VENS, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at 5 Cobham Terrace, Greenhithe, county of Kent, England, have invented certain new andA useful Improvements in Boot-Trees,'of which the following is a specification. g i

A boot-tree acoording'to this invention consists of two parts, one of which is an arched front piece in the form of the upperv portion of the boot and having a slotted stem extending upward from it, and the other a tube or rod connected by a pin to the two sides of the stem of the front piece,the pin passing through a slot in the tube or rod. The tube or rod carries a spring whichvtends to keep the pin at the top of the slot in it. A heel-piece is preferably attached to the tube or rod. The base of the heel-piece is cut away toward the back, so that no pressure comes upon the junction of the heel with the upper. Two or more vholes are made in the sides of the stem of the front piece to receive the pin for varying the pressure and for adapting the 4tree to various sizes of boots.

When the tree is inserted into a boot, the heel-piece is placed upon the heel and the front piece into the front portion of the boot. The top ends of the two parts of the tree are pressed away from each other, the pin being slid down the slot and the spring compressed. In this manner pressure is always maintained by the tree in the boot.

The drawings annexed to the specification show trees made in accordance with this invention.

Figure l is a side View, and Fig. 2 is a section of the front piece, which in this case is hollow, on the line 2 2, Fig. l; Fig. 3, a side view of a tree adapted for use in shoes.

a is a front piece, with a stem b projecting up from it, in which is a slot c, through which a tube d passes. e is a pin secured to the stem b of the front piece through one set f The pin e passes through a slot g in the tube, a spring h in which always tends to keep it at the top of the slot g. The bottom of the tube d is attached to a heel-piece t' by a pin 7c. In some cases the heel-piece may be dispensed with and a roller such as is shown in the tree in Fig. 3 may be advantageously substituted.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 the stein b is omitted and the tube d is made shorter. The bottom of tube d is forked, and a roller Z is secured by an axis m, which is free to slide in a slot n in the heel-piece.

To insert the tree into a shoe, the front piece is placed in the front portion of the shoe and the tubeis forced down onto the base of the heel-piece.

What I claim is- 1. A boot-tree, consisting of a front piece in the form of the upper portion of the boot, a rod, a pin passing through a longitudinal slot in the rod and jointing the rod to the front piece, and a spring carried by the rod bearing against the pin and pressing the rod rearwardly relatively to the front piece.

2. The combination of the front piece, a, the tubular rod, d, having a longitudinal slot, g,ra pin, e, extending through the slot and jointing the rod to the front piece, and a spring, h, carried by the tubular rod bearing against the pin and pressing the rod rearwardly relatively to the front piece.

The combination of the front piece, a, having a slotted stem b, the tubular rod, d, having a longitudinal slot, g, a pin, e, extending through the slot and connecting the tubular rod' to the stem, b, a spring, h, carried bythe tubular rod and pressing it rearwardly and a roller, t, carried by the rod, CZ.

4. The combination of the front piece, a, the tubular rod, d, havinga slot, g, a pin, e., extending through the slot and jointing the front piece to the rod, a'spring, h, bearing against the pin and pressing the rod rearwardly, and a heel-piece, t', attached to the outer end of the rod.

5. The combination of the front piece, a, the tubular rod, d, having a slot, g, the pin, e, jointing the front piece to the rod,a spring, h, bearing against the pin and pressing the rod rearwardly, the roller, Z, attached to the outer end of the rod, and the heel-piece, i, to which the outer end of the rod is also attached.

THOMAS GEORGE STEVENS.

Witnesses:

WILFRED CARPMAEL, ROBERT B. RANsEoRD. 

